Part 8
"In the studios now with me, John Norris with the latest in the news. John, you’ve got some pretty heavy news for us."
"Sure do, Carson. Backstreet fans got more than they bargained for last night as they watched in horror as Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough collapsed on stage and was taken away on a stretcher. Here now with us are the rest of the Backstreet Boys, Kevin, AJ, Brian, and Nick along with ‘Sweet D’s Angel’, Sarah Dorough. I want to thank you for coming in today and talking with us. I know you all probably had a long night."
The camera cut to the group…AJ and Kevin stood on either side of Sarah with AJ holding her hand.
Sarah spoke up. "It was, John, but we all wanted to be here to reassure fans that Howie is going to be okay. I was with him just before we came here and he wanted me to tell the fans that he loves them with all his heart and their support now means the world to him."
Looking around the studio, there wasn’t a dry eye there. Girls clung to each other, held hands, and waited to hear from Sarah and the Boys about one of their idols.
"What happened?" asked Carson. "I mean, you guys are in top shape for this tour."
"We are," answered Kevin. "Unfortunately, that didn’t help in this situation."
"Howie has an aneurysm caused by high blood pressure. Last night, it started to leak which caused him to collapse," said Sarah. "The doctors called it a cerebral hemorrhage and he underwent surgery to fix it."
"The aneurysm, was it something you two knew about?" asked John.
"Yeah, sorta. We both knew about the high blood pressure but about three or four months ago, he started having severe headaches. He went in to find out what was going on and that’s when he found out about the aneurysm. He didn’t tell me about it because of my pregnancy."
"You mentioned surgery," said Carson.
"Yeah. Around midnight, they took him into surgery to fix it. There’s going to be a press conference at the hospital tonight at 5 for the doctors to explain Howie’s condition and treatment but I can tell you what I know about it which isn’t much. To get him prepared, they had to shave part of his hair…." A collective gasp went through the audience and Sarah had to laugh. "Yeah…I had the same reaction. Anyway, the surgery lasted about 8 hours and I got to see him in recovery. They have him heavily sedated to keep his blood pressure down and he’ll be in ICU for 48 hours and then a private room for about a week."
"What about the tour, Kevin?" asked John.
"We’re going to postpone the tour until Howie is ready to go back
out."
"How long?"
"The doctors haven’t given a definite date yet," said Sarah.
"Will you come back and let us know?" asked Carson.
"Definitely," chorused the guys and Brian continued, "We want to keep the fans informed as to what’s going on."
"This must be hard on you, Sarah. How are you holding up?" asked John.
Sarah gave a half smile as each of the guys looked at her. AJ gave her hand a squeeze as she said, "It was scary not knowing what was going on but the guys have been wonderful. Howie’s parents are here now too which is a comfort. I’ve managed to get some sleep and something to eat before coming here."
"We had to threaten her," teased Nick.
Everyone laughed and Sarah said, "I think it’s hardest on our daughter, Jesse. She’s got a real fear of hospitals in the first place and she can’t see Howie just yet. As soon as he’s in a room though, I’m going to take her in to see him."
"How long will you be in New York?"
"I’m not sure. It all depends on Howie’s recovery and what the doctors say. Tell you what," said Sarah as she looked around at the girls in the audience, "as soon as Howie is up to it, I’ll have him call in….let you hear HIM say he’s going to be okay."
"I know there are thousands of Backstreet fans who will be tuning in. Now, let’s go to the number two video which just happens to be by none other than ‘Sweet D’s Angel’."
The video started playing and Sarah stood staring at the monitor watching pictures of her and Howie that were a part of the video. The song was the one he had written for her when they were dating, ‘That’s When I’ll Stop Loving You’ and now that she was popular in her own right, they had decided it was safe for Howie to be in the videos with her.
AJ put his arms around her and held her as tears started to cascade down her cheeks. The other guys were there too and several fans came over to speak to Sarah.
Kevin asked, "Do you want us to finish this?"
"No, I’ll be okay."
Carson offered, "We’re going to a commercial break after your video. That’ll give you a little extra time."
"Thanks."
"We’ll change the subject too when we come back," offered John.
The stage manager said, "We’re back in 15."
Sarah wiped her tears away and AJ whispered, "You look fine."
"We’re back and still with us is Sarah Dorough and the Backstreet Boys, Kevin Richardson, AJ McLean, Nick Carter, and Brian Littrell. Let’s change the subject for just a minute. Sarah, when are you due with the latest Backstreet Baby?"
Sarah smiled as Kevin and Nick both reached over to rub her stomach. It also got quite a few laughs from the audience.
"Ironically, my due date is Howie’s birthday, August 22nd."
"A hell of a birthday gift."
Nick joked, "Yeah, she has a knack for that kind of thing. Their twins were born on Valentine’s Day. It’s her way of not having to go out and actually buy him a gift."
"What about music? Are you working on anything, Sarah?"
"As a matter of fact, yeah, I am. We’re looking at releasing a Christmas album with a lot of our favorites and the guys are actually doing it with me, a Backstreet/Sweet D’s Angel collaboration. One of the songs on the album is ‘I’m Dreaming of A White Christmas’ which is kinda special to Howie and me. It was the first song Howie ever heard me sing."
"They’re your producers, right?"
"Yeah, and Howie is my manager."
"Keeping it in the family?"
"Of course."
"Sarah, guys, we want to thank you for coming in today and sharing the news with us," said John.
"It’s our pleasure. The fans are extremely important to all of us and we want to keep them up on what’s going on," said AJ. "They were extremely supportive of me when I went through rehab and we know they’ll be in Howie’s corner now."
"Speaking of fans and being supportive," said Carson. "Where can they send stuff to Howie?"
"You know," said Sarah. "Rather than spending the money on stuff, if they would make a donation to the Dorough Lupus Foundation or any one of the charities that the guys have, we’d appreciate it."
"There you go and we have the addresses for you on the screen now for you. We’re going to leave you know with the number one video by the Backstreet Boys."
As the video started playing and the cameras stopped rolling, John and Carson both gave Sarah a hug.
Before they left, Sarah and the guys moved through the audience talking to the fans and reassuring them that Howie would be back good as new soon.
